Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-01-13

short-horn, Hereford. polled Aneus
Suffolk and Devon cattle have Claimed
every point of merit for the breed the,
are interested in. Many of them M,
doubtlessly honest in extolllng th.
breed they keep over all others. It i.
as natural that man should prefer thu
cattle he keeps as that he should con.
slider the members of his own family
superior to the people of the neichbor.
hood where he lives. A careful and
painstaking breeder ordinarily has 8
strong attachment for the animals he
raises. Fancy has much to do in caus.
ing man to select a particular breed
Of animals. and an old adage runs
There is no accounting for taste
The majority of persons in the
country who raise animals for beef arc
rs undecided in regard to the compar-
alive merits 0: the different breeds as
they We're before there were any dis
cuss:Cns respecting the matter. The
few agricultural colleges in the coun-
try that perform any experiments in
cattle-feeding have not venturcd to
test the merits of the different breeds.
probably for the reason that they fear
to give Oilensc to breeders. 1t was
generally believed that the establish
ment of livestock shows would d.,
much to determine which breed of cat
tie was the most profitable to raise fol
beef. But the displays OF fine speci-
mems of the different breeds apparent
ly made it more difficult than ever t
decide which was the best. For thi,
reason it was urged that a display o
live cattle was not sufficient to enable
persons to determine the comparativ,
merits of the different breeds. Accord
ingly specimens of different breeds o.
the same age were slaughtered anf
their meat inspected by experts il
order to determine which was the best
But the block test did not decide tn
controversy in relation to superio
merit. In few instances the micro
scope was used for examining tn,
dressed meat, and it was then sub
jectcd to the table test after it ha,
been roasted or bro;led.
All the tests that have been made,
however, for determining the relativ,
value of the different breeds have no
resulted in convincing people that on.
breed is greatly superior to the Others
Many contend that food exercises
more important influence on the qua!
ity of beef than the breed of the an;
NAL. Prof. j. w. Sanborn, OF the Mis-
souri, Agricultural College. states. !,
the result of numerous experiment
made by him. that she kind Of foo
and the manner in which it is pre-
pared exert wonderful influence o,
the quantity and qualify OF the flesh
ali kinds of animas. Two steers @!
the same breed and of the same ag
and size will furnish meat OF very dill
fcrent qualities if the food eaten b,
each is dissimilar The meat of on
may be beautifully marDled. while that
of the other will have all the fat d.
posted on the surface. He contends
that the comparative value of the dit
ferent breeds can only be determined
by subject'ng several specimens o
each to the same course of feeding dur
ing the entire period of their growti,
or ut least from the time they ar.
weaned till they are slaug Uttered. j
correct test of breed can, in his opin
ion. only be made when animals O
different breeds are supplle4 with tn
8lmc kinds of food.
The experiment. however fairly con
dncted. will not definitely determine
the comparative merits of tine different
breeds Tor variOus sections of dhe coun
try. 1t may conclusively Sh1w whici
breed is the most profitable te'kcepi
Central Missouri and other sections o
tile country where the climate and pre-
lection are similar. At the latitud
nnMed the winters are not sever,
bilse-grass aboands, timothy an
clover are used for hay, and corn. i
generally fed to cattle intended TO
slaughter the breed shown tsoke the
bc3s for this section of the sountr.,
nlny not De the best breed for the eX
tres1e South, where the grazing l
poor. where nc clover is grown. and
where corn j. too scarce to use for fst
teninG cattle. Neither will 1t show
which is she best breed OF cattle for {"
range and ranch where animals "a,
neprotession during the winter. whIr
mo- grass is converted into hay, ane
where there is no grains to feed. One
valuable fact, however, is all tina
siiDuld be expected as the result o
,My experiment Other experiment
can be tried with view to determin
ing the best breed of cattle for die cat
de-gfowing States and the grea'
plains.-Csicago Times.